Parker's pace putting space between her and council

Houston's effort to choose an administrator for its $300 million health benefits program, however, has revealed broader tensions between Mayor Annise Parker and the City Council. Some council members and observers perceive a new urgency emanating from the third floor at City Hall since Parker thumped a well-funded challenger to win re-election to a third and final term last November.

The apparent shift has some wondering if an administration sometimes criticized for ignoring the council may be more inclined to bulldoze them in Parker's last two years.

"There's a feeling among many council members that the mayor is riding a little roughshod over them," said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones. "The council is pushing back a little bit with the goal of the next two years not being reflective of the last two months."

Recent months have seen several moves that raised eyebrows among City Hall observers accustomed to a more incremental approach from Parker. In late November, Parker, relying on guidance from City Attorney David Feldman and court rulings, announced the city would begin offering health and life insurance benefits to legal spouses of all city employees, gay or straight, in apparent violation of a 2001 city charter amendment.

Then Parker announced she was ditching a compromise proposal on payday lending regulations in favor of more stringent rules mirroring those passed by other Texas cities. She then settled a lawsuit with 16 topless clubs over the city's sexually oriented business rules that had them fund a new vice unit and close private rooms in exchange for legalizing lap dances.

The same-sex benefits decision already has gotten the city sued, and the payday industry says it may sue, too, though the council passed that item easily. Churches, nonprofits and others have criticized the topless club settlement.

Some urgency is to be expected in Parker's final term, said Councilman Oliver Pennington, though he and others noted that council members needing to fight with the administration to get information is not a new problem in Houston's strong-mayor system. Many council members pointed to Parker's warning in her inaugural address this month that the next two years would be busy.

"I'd say it's probably a little bit worse right this minute, but it goes on all the time," Pennington said. "She's more aggressive on the issues she's interested in. Because she's in her last term, I presume she's going to try to get as many of those things done as she can."

Councilman Mike Laster agreed.

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"I'm sure she has a list a mile long of things she thinks she has to get done before the end of these two years, as does council, and that's going to be like this," Laster said, jumbling his hands together in a chaotic motion. "And that's the fun part. It's inherent in the way our system works."

As for the health benefits administrator contract, Parker said the discussion is being muddled by lobbyists who broke city rules by contacting council members during the "quiet period," when vendors' competing proposals are being evaluated.

At a committee hearing called to discuss the health proposal, some council members lashed out at the quiet period, saying their ability to get crucial information was being "crippled," and calling it "unconscionable" that Parker would schedule such a hearing when representatives of the losing bidders could not speak.

Not helping some council members' moods was that the firms bidding on the contract were informed the city's current vendor, Cigna, had been selected four days before the council was told last week; officials said the letters were sent by mistake.

"We did not have to make that presentation," Parker said, adding that the council voted to institute quiet periods two years ago. "They want access before the end. Well then, they have to recognize that you cannot negotiate a contract through lobbyists. The more prior notice we give, the more we expect council members to behave in a professional manner."

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"The mayor has indicated on numerous occasions that she has an aggressive agenda she wants to get accomplished and a very short time in which to do that. We will be moving fast, but we'll be doing that in keeping with our record of working with council."

Councilman Ed Gonzalez said the administration's willingness to answer questions has not changed.

Councilman C.O. Bradford said the administration's "ambush" approach is the same.

"We didn't get any material - zero, nothing - until we walked into council" for the health benefits hearing, he said.